Another Day Gone
by Ink and Poison
Summary: Charlotte and Joshua were on their own. Brother and sister against the world of the undead. After escaping a brutal attack by the first group of survivors they met out on the road, will they be able to trust this new group of people they bump into on Interstate 85? Daryl/OC.


**Hey guys! So I know juggling two stories at the same time might be a bit difficult, but I had this chapter on my laptop just waiting to be published AND today was The Walking Dead's Mid-Season Finale for Season 5 so BAM! I decided to finally post it! I know, I take FOREVER to update chapters for "It's In Our Blood" but maybe you would enjoy this story as well?**

**Let me know what you all think, feedback is always welcomed! All I ask of you is to be kind with your words.  
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**This chapter is titled "Apocalypse Please" by Muse.**

**I do not own The Walking Dead.**

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><p>It was a scorching hot day. The sun beamed bright in the sky as it shone down through the tree's branches. <em>Lucky us<em>. Charlie thought to herself as she dragged her legs, trying to keep the same steady pace as her brother's. The sound of twigs snapping and leaves being crushed beneath their feet were the only sound she could hear in the silent and still woods.

"The highway should be up ahead." her brother announced, not bothering to glance back at her. This was about the 5th time he said this, and he was getting on her nerves.

"Are you sure, Joshua? Maybe we've been heading the wrong direction this entire time." She heaved, taking in a slow breath before exhaling. She stopped beside a tree, trying to catch her breath. "Damn it!" the young women growled as she lifted her hand to wipe away the bead of sweat forming on her forehead. She tried to push her brown hair away from her face, but it fell back into it's original position. This only upset her more. "Why does it have to be so damn hot?" she complained, forcing her legs to keep marching forward.

"After living in the south for three years, I would've thought you would get use to this weather." He teased, taking long strides and easily catching up with his younger sister. "It isn't that bad." He readjusted the heavy backpack he was carrying over his shoulders, groaning as his back throbbed.

"Says **you**. You've lived out here longer than I have. You know California never gets this hot. Not by the beach, anyway." She walked beside Joshua, trying to mimic his pace. She couldn't help but smile when she thought about the beach. She had loved sneaking out of her parents' beachfront house in the middle of the night and listen to the waves crash against the sand. It was the only thing she missed about the Golden State.

"Do you think our parents-" she was cut off.

"Don't start." Joshua stopped in his tracks to face her, his bright hazel eyes stared into her green ones. "Doesn't matter if they survived or not, they were dead to me long before any of this shit happened." He tried to keep his voice from rising, but the harshness in his words still made his sister flinch. When she didn't respond, he let out deep sigh, brushing his hair away from his eyes. "Charlie..."

"No, I'm sorry." she shook her head, giving him a weak smile. "It was stupid of me to even bring them up." She walked passed him and continued down the trail. Joshua took a quick glance around them, inspecting their surroundings, before deciding to follow behind Charlie.

She wasn't sure how long they had been walking in silence, but she suddenly stopped when she heard a faint noise. She wiped her head back toward her brother, eyes wide. "Do you hear that?" Joshua jerked to a sudden stop, staring at the ground as he stood still. After a few seconds, he looked up at her, gently shaking head. "I swear, I heard an engine just now." She started to walk off again, quickening her pace, trying not to trip over herself.

"I didn't hear anything, Charlie. Maybe you just imagined it." He jogged up to her, easily following in her step. "It wouldn't be the first time."

"I heard something, Josh! It was faint, but I heard it!" She took off, sprinting passed dozens of trees. She could hear Joshua call out to her, telling her to stop, but she ignored him. She tried to run as fast as she can, trying to find the source of the sound she was desperate of finding, but after just a few seconds, she stumbled down to the ground. She let out a cry, having landed on her injured shoulder.

"Damn it, Charlotte! Are you alright?!" Joshua appeared next to her, kneeling down to her level. She groaned as he wrapped a hand around her arm, making her lean against the closest tree. She shut her eyes tightly; the pain seared through her collarbone. "What the hell were you thinking running off like that?" he scolded her as he moved his hand up, gently tugging her tshirt off her shoulder, revealing worn out bandages. She winced.

"No blood. Your stitches must still be in tact." He examined, sighing. There was no point in nagging at her, it never helped. She was stubborn, no doubt about that, because so was he. The two siblings always bumped heads, but once they hit the road, running away from those **things**, they were all each other had left.

Charlie leaned her head back onto the tree, grinding her teeth together until the pain seized. The longer she sat there, the more frustrated she got. She hated feeling weak. "Let's just keep going." She started to get up, but her brother's hand gently shushed her back down.

"You sure you're okay?" he asked. His voice was quiet, almost as if he was apologizing to her for what happened before.

She nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm sure. We need to find the highway. Or...some sort of shelter before dusk." Joshua stared at her for a second, not completely believing her, but he helped her up anyway. He reached down to grab the backpack Charlie had been carrying, toppling it over his own. With the help of her brother, they began their march through the woods again.

It didn't take very long for them to reach some thick shrubs. They both came to a halt and glanced over to each other before storming through the bushes. When their feet met the pavement, Charlie felt as though they had finally made process from their long journey through the woods. For a moment, she was overjoyed; happy to finally be able to encounter something that had felt so normal and familiar to her just weeks ago. Her smile faltered at the scene in front of her.

The interstate was filled with abandoned cars, toppled and smashed against each other. Even from a short distance away, Charlie spotted empty bottles of water, scattered clothing and trails of blood everywhere. She felt sick to her stomach. "Come on. Let's see if we can find anything here." She followed Joshua to the cars, taking slow steps toward them. He glanced back at her, dug into one of the bags, and pulled out a knife, handing it to her. "Keep it close, like I taught you."

Charlie had reverse grip on the dagger, the blade facing away from her body as she held it close to her chest, ready to attack anything that came in her way. "Water, food, and anything else you think can be useful." Joshua handed her the lightest backpack. She tried to look further down the road, but the endless amount of cars limited her sight. "Let's make this fast. We have a lot of ground to cover." He nodded and disappeared behind some cars.

She decided to scout ahead on her own, being the fastest of the two. She passed by the cars, one by one, until a small blue vehicle caught her attention; the sunken face of a decayed corpse stared at her behind a dirty window, covered in dry blood. Charlie quickly looked away, nauseated by the stench that was creeping out from it.

She moved onto the next car, a vacant one. She peered into the back seat before yanking on the door handle, it creaked open. She took a wary look around, searching for anything that might help for her journey. Looking under the car seats, she noticed a long, dark colored rod hiding underneath a magazine. _A flashlight?_ She pulled it out. It was made out of black steel, making it a bit heavier than what Charlie would have liked it to be. She clicked it on, the bright white light indicated that it must have been new. _Nice._ she thought to herself, turning it back off and stuffing it into her bag.

Finding nothing else other than clothes and empty food cans, she moved onto the next car. An old SUV. She opened the passenger door, digging into the glove compartment. Behind a dozen papers, she found empty medicine bottles and a zippo lighter next to a half empty pack of cigarettes. The lighter would come in handy and she wasn't much of a smoker, but she shoved the pack into her pocket anyway before continuing her search. Food wrappers and more clothing scattered the floor. _On to the next car. _She hopped out of the vehicle, turning back to glance at the backseat one more time to make sure she didn't miss anything.

"Who the hell are you?" her stomach dropped. She swirled around, coming face to face with a crossbow. Without moving, she looked up to the pair of blue eyes that stared hard at her. He aimed his weapon directly at her chest. "**Who the hell are you?"** he repeated himself, keeping his stance.

She felt numb. She was trapped between a car and this man; if she ran, he would surely attack her without hesitating. Joshua was no where to be found. She didn't know what to do. "Drop it." he nodded to her hand, noticing her dagger. She held it tighter, her hand shaking. From the tight grip or the fear she felt? Charlie didn't know. She didn't move, but continued to stare at the stranger, his icy blue eyes glaring down at her.

She heard a click and looked over the man's shoulder; Joshua held his gun to the back his head. "**You** drop it. **Right ****now.**" her brother hissed, his voice dark and low. The blue-eyed man slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder, his crossbow still aimed toward Charlie.

"That ain't a smart idea. Pull that trigger? Ya gonna attract some unwanted attention. From my group **and** from walkers." he spat at Joshua. His group? That meant he wasn't alone. _Walkers? Is that what he calls them?_ Charlie nervously looked at the two men; neither of them standing down.

"Josh..." she whispered, not wanting the men to jerk in response and pull their weapon's trigger. A sudden movement caught the corner of her eye. Just a few cars down the road, she recognized the slow, silent movements. She spotted not only one, but an entire group of corpses heading their way. "Josh!" she said with urgency. "Those **things** are coming!"

The two men turned their head to where Charlie was gazing at, and surely enough, the "walkers" were making their way toward them. "Shit!" the blue eyed man exclaimed, dropping his crossbow, for which Charlie was grateful for. It wasn't until the man walked away from her that she realized she had been holding her breath the whole time. She stared at him as he crouched behind the nearest car and looked back at the siblings. "I suggest if ya don't want to be eaten alive, find a place to hide." He hissed at them before disappearing.

"Wait-" Charlie began to say before her brother grabbed onto her, preventing her to advance towards the stranger's direction.

"No, don't go after him." He knew what she was thinking when she stared back at him. They didn't have any time to waste, especially not with those walking corpses around the corner. He shook his head at her. "Get under the car, **now.**" He grabbed onto her shoulders, trying not to hurt her injured one, and pushed her down.

She dropped down to her knees, then down onto her stomach and crawled underneath the car that just moments before she had been scavenging in. As soon as she was in hiding, Joshua ran to the nearest truck and quickly rolled under it. They both laid on their backs, weapons drawn to their sides, ready to be used.

Just a few seconds of stillness passed before Charlie could hear them coming. She could SMELL them coming. Her body froze when the first walker made its way passed the car, then came the second and third. Multiple corpses made their way passed them and it took all of Charlie's might to stop herself from gagging.

The more time passed, the more she worried about the blue eyed man. Did he seek shelter for himself? Was he okay? And what about the group that he mentioned? If they were nearby, they surely must have come across those walkers too. She didn't hear the walkers make any fuss as they stumbled away, so maybe everyone on the highway was safe.

Charlie waited until there was complete silence before peeking her head out from under car, looking up and down the road so make sure the walkers were gone. Joshua rolled out from under the truck and quickly helped pull his sister out from under the vehicle. "Where did that guy go?" He peered into the near by cars, trying to see where his previous threat was hiding. He quickly dismissed his search. "We should run. We don't know what that guy is up to."

Charlie stared off into the direction where the undead disappeared to, her heart racing. "No," she sighed roughly. "A big group like that? If we wonder off into the woods, one of them might spot us." Her head turned to look down the road, instantly frowning as the man that had popped up on them before hadn't appeared yet. "We stay and search for supplies." She ignored Josh as he gave her a stern look and stepped away from him, gripping her dagger tightly in her hand. Her brother followed closely, ready to lift his hand gun at any moment.

Just as she was about to walk past a car that was turned over on its side, Charlie heard a groan. She held her knife close to her, hoping she wouldn't have to use it. She glanced back at her brother, waiting to get an approved nod before she stepped forward. She jumped out, ready to swing her knife, but came to a halt and gasped. The man they encountered a short while ago was kneeling in front of a dark skinned man, his shirt was completely stained with blood.

"Oh shit." She heard Joshua mutter when he made his way around her, staring down at the guys in front of them. "Was he bitten?" Joshua asked as he noticed the two walkers that lied down next to them.

"Nah, he must 'ave slit his arm open with broken glass or somethin'..."As he wrapped a red bandana around the man's forearm, his blue eyes looked up to them. "Are ya going to just stand there or what?" He tightened the bandana, causing the injured man to groan in pain.

Without giving a glance at her brother, Charlie slipped her knife into her belt and leaned down next to the blue eyed man. "Here, let me do it." She offered, taking the bandana from him. She tried to secure the entire wound, but she was going to need more than this small cloth to do the job. "He needs stitches, but this should stop the bleeding for now."

As she was about to make one last tug, they heard a faint scream. "Shit!" The stranger rose to his feet, trying to see past all the cars to find the source of the sound. "We gotta go." He turned to Joshua, nodding toward the wounded man. "Help me with him." He swung his crossbow over his shoulder and leaned down to hoist his friend up.

Joshua looked at Charlie, silently asking her if they should help the two men. Charlie didn't hesitate to urge him on. "Come on. Let's go." Her brother was quick on his feet. After getting the man to stand, they slowly made their way down the road. One step after another, Charlie's heart raced faster and faster. She didn't know what they were getting themselves into but they couldn't just let this man bleed to death.

They made their way around one last car before Charlie spotted a group of people huddled together by the guardrail. _This is his group? _Her heart stopped when a young man from the group turned around, spotting them. "Daryl!" The group all turned their heads toward their direction. Her heart was about to burst through her chest.

"Glenn! T-Dog is hurt bad!" The blue eyed man, whose name was apparently Daryl, had shouted at the approaching Asian man.

"Oh, shit." The young man, Glenn, exhaled. He stared at Charlie and Joshua. "Who are these people?"

"That don't matter right now, we have to get him to the RV!" Daryl growled.

Glenn quickly threw T-Dog's arm over his shoulder as he helped Daryl walk him into the nearby RV. Just as Charlie was about to follow them in, she was cut off by a tall, dark eyed man. Joshua pulled his sister back behind him, shielding her from the stranger.

"Who are you?" Was all he asked, taking a strong stance between them and the vehicle.

They stood silent, before one of them decided to speak. "My name is Joshua." He nodded his back toward Charlie's direction. "This is my sister, Charlotte." The man stood there, staring at the siblings with his hand tightly holding onto his shotgun. "We bumped into your guys up the highway. We couldn't just let the man bleed out..."

"Can you help T-Dog?" A dark haired women appeared behind them, a worried look on her face.

"I can try." Charlie whispered, hoping they didn't notice her quivering voice.

The woman looked up to the tall man. "Shane, let them through."

"Lori!" he hissed at the woman. "We don't know these people!"

"T-Dog is hurt! If they can help him, then we NEED them."

Shane sighed, looking over at the rest of his group; their attention caught between the woods and the situation with the new people that had appeared. He looked back up, giving a hard stare to Joshua. "That man in there? He won't hesitate to kill either one of you if you try to make a wrong move." He hesitantly stepped aside, allowing them to walk into the RV.

"You alright, T-Dog?" Glenn asked while he was dug through all the cabinets, trying to find anything that he thought would be useful while Daryl tightened the bandana. T-Dog's eyes had began to glisten.

"Just hurry up! We can't have him bleeding everywhere!" Daryl growled at the young man, making his move faster.

"Apply some more pressure on his arm, Josh." Charlie said, throwing her backpack down to rush over and help Glenn. "Bandages, tape, gauze...find anything that we can dress his arm with."

Just as Charlie was beginning to clean T-Dog's arm, she was startled by a sudden shout. "Damn it!" Shane stormed into the RV, earning the attention of everyone who was inside it. "Glenn, Daryl! We need to go out and find Rick. It's been way too damn long."

"Whatcha mean 'find Rick'? Where the hell did he go?" Daryl asked, sounding annoyed.

It took a second for Shane to respond. "Sophia ran into the the woods, trying to get away from two walkers. Rick ran after her. They aren't back yet."

"Shit." Daryl leaned over the table to reach for his crossbow. "Don't let him die." He plainly stated to Charlie before making his way out.

"Dale is the owner of this RV. He will be right outside if you need anything." Shane said as he turned around to follow Daryl.

"And let me guess...he's won't hesitate to kill us too?" Josh called out, earning a hard stare from Shane.

"Let's go, Glenn!" he ignored Josh's comment and left.

"Shane could be a pain in the ass, but he means well." Glenn explained to the siblings. He looked nervous as he spoke to them. "Just please, take care of him?" He asked in a gentle voice, earning a nod from both Joshua and Charlie.

"Of course." The young man walked out.

Once no one else entered the RV, Joshua figured they would be left alone to tend to T-Dog's arm. "You okay with this?" His voice was gentle, almost scared to ask. But Charlie merely nodded her head and gave her full attention to the bleeding man.

"I-I didn't see those bastards coming." T-Dog stammered out, wincing as Charlie cleaned his wound. "We're good people." He couldn't say a full sentence without letting out a groan. "Thanks...for this."

"Save your energy, just rest." T-Dog nodded his head, sighing as he laid his head down on the nearest pillow.

Charlie had finished bandaging T-Dog's arm by the time Glenn and Shane had come back to the highway, without Daryl or the other people they had spoke of earlier. Joshua was worried about being surrounded by a bunch of strangers, but after talking to T-Dog, Charlie felt a bit more at ease.

They made their way out of the RV, catching the end of the group's conversation. "I'm still freaked out by that herd that passed us by." A blonde women said while opening a bottle. "Or whatever you'd call it." She took a sip of water.

"Yeah, what was that? All of them just marching around like that?" chimed Glenn.

"A herd." Shane thought it over for a second. "That sounds about right." Charlie noticed the small smile that appeared on the blonde's face. "We've seen it. The night camp got attacked. Just some wondering pack, just fewer." _So this had happened to them before?_ Shane caught Charlie's stare and immediately straightened up, clearing his throat. "Okay. C'mon, people. We still got a lot to do." He walked by everyone. "Let's stay on it. Let's go, C'mon." Glenn followed behind him.

"How's T-Dog?" A small, blue eyed boy appeared by Charlie's side. She smiled at the boy, opening her mouth to answer him when Lori came rushing toward them.

"Hey, why don't you go help Dale, huh?" She gently pushed him away. "Go on." The boy gave one more glance at Charlie before he did what he was told. _I guess the whole 'Don't talk to strangers' thing still applies, even after the world ends. _"How is he?" Lori nodded toward the RV, wiping the sweat off her forehead.

Josh leaned against the RV, leaving Charlie to explain what was going on with their friend. "Well..." she started off. "I tried to clean his wound the best i could, but he needs stitches. I don't have any supplies."

"Are you a nurse?" she asked.

Charlie shook her head. "No, but..." she licked her lips, suddenly thirsty. "Our grandmother was. She taught me everything she knew."

Lori gently nodded her head. "Well, thank you. We really appreciate it." She handed them both a water bottle, to which they were extremely grateful. "I'm Lori Grimes."

"Charlotte O'Connell. This is my brother, Joshua." They shook hands.

"That's my son, Carl. And that's Dale, Andrea, Carol, and I believe you've already met Glenn and Shane."

"We have." Josh mumbled, but immediately straightened up when Charlie sent him a glare. She knew her brother didn't like Shane's attitude toward them, but what else could they expect? You can never be too careful with strangers. The siblings had to learn the hard way. Charlie's shoulder began to sting.

"We heard that some of your people are out in the woods?" Charlie asked, choosing her words carefully.

Lori looked down at the ground as she responded. "Yes. Carol's daughter was running away from two walkers and she disappeared into the woods. My husband Rick ran after her and now Daryl is out there too." She breathed out, looking quite exhausted.

"I'm sure they'll find her." Joshua spoke up, sounding just as exhausted as Lori. "Anything we can help with?" Lori gave them both a weary look.

Charlie sighed. "Lori, we might not have met under the best circumstances, but I can assure you that my brother and I aren't here to cause you or your group any trouble. It'll be getting dark soon and there is no way in hell we're going to be able to find shelter. So we're stuck on the highway with you for the night. We might as well earn a little trust or else none of us will be able to get any sleep tonight."

Lori stared at Charlie for second before nodding her head. "You're right." She gave them a tired smile. "It's the least we can do after you helped T-Dog. Find supplies for yourselves. There's nothing much for us to do but wait until my husband gets back. Just...stay close." She walked away.

Charlie and Josh stuck together while they searched through more cars. More empty water bottles and trash. After getting nowhere with finding supplies, they started emptying out a truck just a few ways away from Dale's RV, deciding that it was where they would sleep for the night.

"Do you trust them?" Joshua asked his sister, throwing his backpack in the passenger seat as he laid down on the backseats.

Since Charlie was smaller than her brother, she was able to stay comfortable in the driver's seat. She bit her lip as she stayed silent for a moment. "I can't say that I **trust** them, but I don't think they're bad." She looked back at their brother. "They're not savages."

"That redneck shoved his crossbow in you're face! And don't get me started on that asshole with the shotgun." Joshua hissed.

"You would do the same. And that Shane guy..." _He IS an asshole._ "Seems like Lori can stop him from barking. Everyone else seems okay. So we should be fine until tomorrow." When Joshua didn't respond, she knew exactly what he was thinking. She let out a tired sigh. "It won't happen again, Josh. We're safe."

"It won't happen again." He repeated, immediately sitting up. "Come on, let's go try to find some supplies. There has to be SOMETHING in those cars."

The sky was a mix of orange and purple as the sun began to set. They didn't find much, just as they had suspected. Before turning in for the night, Charlie and Joshua decided to meet up with the rest of the group.

That's when the siblings found the group of strangers huddled near the highway's guardrail. As they walked closer, they saw Daryl and yet another person they had yet to meet. _That must be Lori's husband._

"You didn't find her." Carol said. It was more of statement than a question. It sent a shiver down Charlie's spine.

"Her trail went cold. We'll pick it up again at first light."

"You can't just leave my daughter out there on her own! To spend the night alone in the woods!"

"Out in the dark's no good." Daryl's rough voice interrupted Carol. "We'd just be tripping over ourselves. More people get lost."

Whatever Daryl said didn't matter to her. "But she's **twelve**!" Hearing this made Charlie look at her brother, who was staring blankly at the ground. "She can't be out there on her own. You didn't find anything?"

"I know this is hard." Rick said, raising his hand in the pursuit of calming her down. "But I'm asking you not to panic. We know she's out there"

"And we tracked her for a while." Daryl interrupted again, trying to ensure that her daughter was still alive.

"We have to make this an organized effort. Daryl knows the woods better than anybody. I've asked him to oversee this."

"Is that blood?' Carol started to hyperventilate.

"We took down a walker."

This only seemed to make it worse. "Walker? Oh my god." The mother's voice cracked.

"There was no sign it was ever anywhere near Sophia."

"How can you know that?" Andrea asked.

Giving her a weary look, Rick couldn't answer. He looked over to Daryl, silently asking him to answer her. "We cut the son of a bitch open. Made sure."

Carol's knees gave out as she slowly sat down on the guardrail with Lori sitting beside her. "Oh, God." She exhaled. Her blue eyes stared up at Rick. "How could you just leave her out there to begin with? How could you just leave her?" She tried to hold back her tears.

"Those two walkers were on us." He defended himself, leaning down toward the crying mother. Lori held Carol's shoulders. "I had to draw them off. It was her best chance."

"Sounds like he didn't have a choice, Carol." Shane stated, trying to show her the reason behind Rick's actions.

"How was she suppose to find her way back on her own. She's just a child." Rick leaned down on one knee, covering his face with one of his dirt covered hands. "She's just a **child.**"

Rick was now down on both of his knees, his face was filled with hurt. "It was my only option. The only choice I could make." His voice quivered. Charlie felt horrible. It was clear to her that he had done the best he could to ensure both his AND the little girl's safety.

"I'm sure nobody doubts that." Shane said, saying what Charlie was thinking.

Carol continued to sob. "My little girl got left in the woods."

Everybody stood there, completely silent. What were they to do? It was true. This little girl was lost. How could they be sure if she was alive or dead? Rick suddenly stood up, avoiding everyone's gaze as he walked off, down the highway. Charlie was sure he hadn't noticed them standing behind the group.

"Come on." Lori escorted Carol into the RV, her soft cries barley audible.

"Let's turn in for tonight. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. Try to get some rest." Shane announced. He walked toward Charlie, sighing before looking down at her. "Lori told me you were going to stay close by for the night?" Charlie hesitantly nodded her head. "Don't get too comfortable." He gave one hard stare at Joshua before walking to wherever Rick wondered off to.

"That guy has some nerve." Josh huffed, turning around to walk toward the truck they claimed.

"Are you guys staying on the highway tonight?" Glenn had walked up to them.

Charlie took a quick glance at her brother, who was just out of earshot. "Yeah, we are."

"Good. Wondering off in the dark ain't a good idea." Daryl stepped into the conversation, adjusting the heavy crossbow over his shoulder. "T-Dog any better?"

Charlie nodded. "Yeah, I cleaned him up the best I could." She informed him. "He's going to need stitches. I would do it myself, but I couldn't find any of the supplies I needed. I'm sorry."

"Thanks again. We really appreciate it." Glenn said, a somber look on his face.

"Yeah, of course." They exchanged an awkward smile before Glenn walked away from them. She shifted her weight, feeling uncomfortable to be standing in front of the guy who had been ready to kill her just hours before. She mustered up the courage to look him in the eye. "I know we just met and all but..." She glanced toward the RV for second, then looked back at him. "Let us know if there's anything we can do to help."

"I'll let Rick know." That was all he said before nodding his head and taking a step back, walking away.

Charlie quickly turned around and made her way toward her brother. He was leaning on the truck, arms crossed over his chest as he eyed his sister.

"What did they want?"

"Just wanted to thank us for helping their friend." Josh shrugged his shoulders and swung the car door open. "W-Wait, Josh." Charlie stopped her brother before he jumped into the vehicle. "I think...we should help Daryl and his group."

"Charlie-" Joshua started, but his sister cut him off.

"What if it was Ryan or Hayley who were lost out there?" She blurted out.

When his hazel eyes stared down at her without moving, she didn't know what to think. Not once has she mentioned what happened to his family, to **their** family. Bringing it up made her feel sick to her stomach.

"Charlotte..." he rubbed his temples, exhaling slowly.

"I'm sorry, I-I just..." She stopped herself, trying to keep her voice from quivering. "You know what it feel like to lose your son, your daughter, and your wife. This little girl is all that woman has left. We can't just leave. What if we can help?"

They both stood still, not saying a word. Charlie couldn't think of what to say. She can only imagine what Josh was thinking. They had no reason to help these people. After the last group they encountered, she shouldn't have even considered trusting these people. But they didn't seem dangerous. They were a group of survivors who lost one of their own. A child.

"Alright." He finally let his hand fall from his face. "We'll help them find her." He was just about to enter the car when he let out a tired laugh. "Brooke was right, ya know."

Hearing her sister-in-law's name made Charlie's ears perk up. This was the first time he had said his wife's name since the world had turned to shit. "Was right about what?" Her voice cracked.

"You always find a way to get through to people. Even me."


End file.
